Ways To Ruin A Royal Reputation (Mills & Boon Modern) (Signed, Sealed…Seduced, Book 1) by Dani Collins (best ebook reader ubuntu .txt) 📗

“You saw how upset she was the day our affair was revealed.” He was still haunted by Amy’s bleak expression. “She threatened to burn down the palace because she was terrified of exactly this.”

“You didn’t know about it, Luca.”

“But I still wouldn’t have done anything differently if I had. That’s what makes me sick with myself. From the minute I saw her, I wanted her. I was attracted to her and yet I hired her anyway. I brought her here and gave in to what I felt. Pursuing what I wanted has destroyed her. So yes, she makes me happy. What the hell can I do about it when I’m a cancer that will only harm her?”

You made me fall in love with you.

He had to breathe through the pain every time he thought about her saying that. In the moment, he’d refused to let it in. His reflex had been to control the damage they faced, but while she’d been sleeping, her words had begun to penetrate and they’d replayed in his head continuously ever since, torturing him. Making him ache with what might have been.

“Do you know why I was away when Papa died?” Sofia asked.

“You were at a UN conference,” he recalled dimly.

“The conference was over. I was hiding in a hotel room, worried I was pregnant.”

Luca abruptly twisted in his chair to stare up at her.

“It was a false alarm,” she hurried to say.

“Who?” he demanded in astonishment.

“Someone who was not anticipating being a father, let alone a queen’s consort,” she said tartly. “What I’m saying is, you are not the only person who has moments of weakness and fallibility.” She cupped his cheek. “You’re not the only one who wants to find a life partner and feel loved.”

“I will stand behind you no matter what, Sofia. You know that.” He took her hand to impress the words into her with a squeeze of her fingers. “You could have told me. If anything like that ever happens again, you can tell me.”

“I know. And I stand behind you no matter what. Despite recent appearances,” she said with a quirk of her mouth. Then she waved at his tablet. “Look how strong she is, Luca. Do you really think she’s going to let any man destroy her? No. She has publicly declared she’s keeping the life she has made for herself, and good for her. She is exactly the sort of woman you should be pursuing. She’ll keep you honest.”

You said it was only going to be an affair and I believed you.

He had tried to believe it himself, but he’d known that every minute with her was more than some flickering memory. It had been a stone in the foundation of something bigger. Something he wanted to make permanent. He’d already been contemplating going to London so they could continue to see one another.

“Do you have any idea how annoying it is that the women in my life are smarter than I am?” He rose.

“At least you’re smart enough to realize that.”

“Be warned, Sofia. If I’m going after everything I want, for me and you and Amy and Vallia, blood may get spilled. I won’t always be nice about it.”

She smiled. “I’ve always known you would slay dragons if you were allowed to carry a sword and weren’t weighed down by a crown. You’ve made it possible for me to be who I need to be. I want you to be who you were meant to be.” She offered her cheek for a kiss. “I love you and trust you.”

“Ti amo, sorella. Don’t wait up. I’ll be gone as long as it takes to win her back.”

I was going to resign, but you’ll have to fire me.

Amy wrote that to Bea and Clare as she prepared to go into work two days later.

Clare was uncharacteristically silent, not answering texts or emails for the last few days, which was worrying, but Bea called her immediately. “I vote you be promoted to Executive Director of Executing Bastards. You’re my hero. I love you.”

“Where are you? When are you coming back?” Amy asked her.

“It’s a lot to explain,” Bea began.

“Oh, God. Wait,” Amy said as her phone pinged with a text. “My mother is threatening to come see me. I haven’t spoken to her since before Tokyo.”

“You don’t have to see her,” Bea reminded her.

“That’s what I’m going to tell her.” Sort of. “I’ll call you back soon.” Amy signed off and tapped her mother for a video call.

Her mother looked surprisingly frail, not wearing her usual makeup and designer day dress. Instead, she was in her dressing gown. Her skin looked sallow and aged and, if Amy wasn’t mistaken, she was putting out a cigarette off-screen.

“There’s a lot of paps outside, Mom. And I’m heading into work so don’t come over here. I won’t drag them to you, either.”

“That’s fine, but I wish you would have seen all of that old business from my point of view, instead of airing it publicly. In New York. Do you have any idea how traumatizing it would have been to put you through a court case over that prat? It was the best thing for you that we made it go away like that. You should be thankful.”

“You have a right to your opinion. Is that all?” Amy propped up her phone so she could use two hands to load her bag.

“I’ve spoken to your father. He’s arranging to release your trust fund as soon as possible.”

“I don’t need it, Mom.” She kind of did, but... “I never wanted money from you and Dad,” she added with a sharp break in her tone that she couldn’t help.

“For God’s sake, Amy. Have you never realized there was none? It was a recession! Your father borrowed from the trust to keep his company afloat. He stopped paying me support. That’s why I married Melvin, so I could sell the house and